Time-Turner
by LisbethFord
Summary: When Daisy was begging for Lincoln to come back to her, she certainly did not expect a random guy from the future to save her boyfriend. Not that she minded, of course. He was home.
1. Chapter 1

Lincoln never wanted to die despite whatever Jemma had said about him having a death wish. Even in his darkest hours, filled with self-loathing, and anger, and cheap alcohol, desperately wishing to get rid of that emptiness inside of him, he never thought about ending his life. He didn't _want to_ die – but he didn't lie to Daisy either: it did feel right. He thought he would die in a bar fight, too drunk to even realize it, or in a Hydra base, being experimented on by evil scientists, or in a crossfire during the mission for SHIELD he wouldn't want to be on. But this – saving the world, _saving Daisy_ – this was something he was okay with.

Elena's cross flew out of his hand, just like in Daisy's vision, and Lincoln knew he had a few seconds to live left.

He had a pretty shitty life full of shitty decisions, but… He did good at the end. Right? He tried, he really tried to make up for his mistakes, helped Inhumans and cured humans… Maybe dying for them was finally enough. Dying for _her_ definitely was.

Lincoln felt bad about leaving Daisy, especially after what Hive did to her. But he believed Hive when he said he would never make her fully happy anyway. She deserved so much better than him. She was beautiful, and strong, and smart, and amazing, and a genius hacker, and a powerful Inhuman. He was… well, the haircut. _Thank you, James._ Daisy was supposed to be with someone worthy of her. Maybe Coulson would introduce her to Captain America one day… He just wished she would be happy. That was all he ever wanted for her. Even if not with him.

 _God, he loved her so much._

Lincoln took a deep breath and closed his eyes, ready to meet the inevitable.

"I love you, Daisy," he whispered quietly.

"Better tell her that in person," a sudden voice broke the silence.

His eyes snapped open and he saw a teenager in front of him. A weird choice of his brain to hallucinate a strange kid in his final moment.

"What the…"

"Come on, we gotta get out of here, fast! Hold tight".

The teenager put something on his wrist and everything went white.

* * *

Daisy was sitting on her bed staring numbly at the white walls. She was allowed to leave the cell but she couldn't come back to her room. She tried once, but saw _his_ sweater on the floor – exactly where she threw it herself while impatiently ridding him of his clothes the night before everything went to hell. She shivered and rubbed her neck as the memories of his lips on her skin and hands all over her body flooded her mind. She didn't know how much longer she could do this. She just needed him. So bad. Her craving for Lincoln's presence was stronger than for whatever Hive infected her with.

Daisy didn't know what to do. She wanted to drink herself up to unconsciousness when they got back to the base, but the first sip of alcohol made her sick. Lincoln wouldn't approve this way of filling the void. He wasn't there to judge but still…

Her vision blurred again and lowered her head on her hands. How could she even still cry? It's been five days and her tears never ended.

"Please," she croaked, not knowing who she was talking to or what she was begging for. "Please, oh my God, please make it stop, please, make it stop, make it stop, I can't take it anymore…"

Daisy fell silent as she heard someone knock.

"Hey, Tremors," Mack called quietly, looking at her through the window in the module. "May I come in? I brought you something".

She just nodded and the door slid opened. He entered the room with a food tray.

"I'm not hungry".

"You need to eat something," he said gently. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday?" Daisy shrugged. "Or the day before, I don't know. Who cares?"

Mack sighed.

"Okay. I'll just leave it here".

"Thanks".

He put the tray on the table. She didn't move. Mack looked at her carefully but kept quiet. She knew how he felt – she couldn't find words when Rosalind died either. There was nothing she could do that would've made Coulson feel better. Just like there was nothing for her now.

"Do you need anything else?" Mack asked awkwardly.

"Lincoln," she snapped and he winced. "Sorry. That wasn't… I just…"

"It's okay," he shook his head. "Don't apologize. I cannot even imagine what you're feeling".

"I hope you'll never know. How's Elena?" she asked, suddenly remembering that the other Inhuman was badly hurt and she hadn't even made sure she was okay.

"She's doing better," Mack nodded. "Look, Daisy…"

He stopped midsentence when they heard a loud noise. Something's happened. People were shouting: multiple "Oh my God!"'s and "Call the doctors!" and "Stop the bleeding!" and then Jemma was calling Lincoln's name. Daisy's heart was beating somewhere in her throat and she couldn't move. She misheard, or misunderstood, or Jemma went crazy, Lincoln was dead, it wasn't possible, he was blown up in the friggin space, he couldn't be here, _oh God, please, please be here…_ She couldn't hope, she wasn't _allowed_ to hope, this would destroy her later, and Lincoln was dead and was not coming back. Why had Jemma called his name?!

She looked at Mack who seemed as shocked as she was. The voices wouldn't shut up.

"Stay here," he told her and hurried out of the room.

It felt like he was absent for _weeks_ , but Daisy couldn't bring herself to get up. If Lincoln wasn't there, she wouldn't survive it. When Mack finally came back she stopped breathing.

"Come on, Tremors, you'll want to see this".

"Mack?" she prompted, waiting for confirmation, because whatever he'd just said did not answer the question.

And he smiled.

"He's here. He's alive".

* * *

The crowd parted when she ran into the living room and she saw _him_. Two agents had already put him on a hospital bed following Jemma's instructions. She tried to say something but Daisy ignored her.

"Lincoln," she whispered unbelievingly and made her way to him.

He was pale and sweaty, barely conscious, with blood still seeping from his side. She took his hand and felt him trying to squeeze her fingers in return.

"Dai…sy," he rasped weakly and she shook her head.

"Shh, don't try to talk," Daisy said gently and brought his hand to her lips. "You'll be okay, Lincoln".

"But I need to… tell you," he was staring at her intently, fighting to stay awake. "I need to…"

"I love you," she blurted out suddenly.

She'd never said it to anyone in her life and that – in sobs, in front of all those people, while he was almost dying – was definitely not how she planned to tell him for the first time. Not that she cared – she _got to_ tell him. She thought she never would, but she did. Because he was here. _Alive._

"Oh my God," Daisy laughed hysterically and buried her face in his neck. "I love you. I love you. I love you…"

It was like she said it once and could not stop anymore, whispering those words against his skin again and again.

His hand slipped out of her grasp and he circled his arm around her waist, pressing her closer to him.

"I love you so much…" he said and she thought she could her tears in his voice.

"Daisy," Jemma put a hand on her shoulder.

"No," she said refusing to let him go.

"Daisy, please," Simmons pressed. "We need to treat his wound. I'll call you when we finish and he'll be all yours".

"Okay," she sighed nodding against his neck. She pulled away slightly and brushed a light kiss against Lincoln's lips. It was hardly enough for her to believe he'd really come back to her, but she'll just have to wait until he recovers. They had all the time in the world now.

The medics rolled his bed out of the living room and Daisy felt her knees giving up. Clearly exhaustion and lack of sleep caught up with her. Someone put their hand around her shoulder, steadying her, and she saw May when she turned her head.

"Come on, you need to sit down," she said leading her to the armchair.

"May," Daisy swallowed a lump in her throat. "May. I'm not going crazy, am I?"

"No, you're not".

"He's really here?"

"He is," the woman smiled slightly.

"How is it possible?"

"We don't know yet" Fitz appeared in front of her carrying a glass of water in one hand and two weird-looking bracelets in the other. "I mean, obviously that guy used some kind of a teleporting device to bring Lincoln here, but we have to wait till he wakes up".

"What guy?" Daisy furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Oh, right, he was the one who saved Lincoln".

She followed his gaze and saw a kid, hardly older then eighteen, lying on the couch. He was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and converses – nothing that screamed "I can pull someone out from space and bring them to a secret underground base". He had short dark hair and pale skin, and Daisy was sure she had never seen him before in her life.

"Who is he?"

"We don't know".

"Well is he okay?"

"Yeah, his vitals are fine, he just passed out".

Daisy emptied the glass of water Fitz gave her and put it on the coffee table. She noticed her hands were shaking.

"Are you okay, Tremors?" Mack asked with concern.

"Yeah," she smiled weakly. "It's true, right? Lincoln…"

"Lincoln is back, he's in the med bay," he replied patiently.

"Thanks. I just needed to check".

The kid started to stir and all the attention turned to him. He blinked a few times, sat up, and his eyes widened as he looked around.

"Oh shit, that really happened," he muttered under his breath. "How long was I out?"

"About twenty minutes," Fitz said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine" the teenager shook his head. "Time travelling makes me a little dizzy".

"I'm sorry… _Time traveling?!_ "


	2. Chapter 2

"So you're saying that _this,_ " Fitz lifted his hand with the bracelets after May left to call Coulson who had a meeting with the President, " _this_ can teleport you through space _and_ time?"

"Well, yeah, basically" the kid nodded. "There are also a lot of science-y words, but I'm not really good at science".

"This is just brilliant and genius and… Offending!" Fitz shook his head in frustration. "I was supposed to be the one who invents a time machine!"

"Actually you were" the kid chuckled. "Or will be. Whatever".

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure this is where you get the idea".

"Unbelievable," Fitz gasped carefully looking at the device again. "This is… I mean I knew I was very smart, obviously, but this… Though now I think I understand how it works. How did I call it?"

The teenager opened his mouth, but Fitz stopped him before he could make a sound.

"Wait! Let me guess… The TARDIS," he declared solemnly.

"Nah, it looks too small for the TARDIS".

"Might be bigger on the inside," Fitz pointed out. "But you're right. Who about… The Time-Turner?"

"Yep, that's it".

"Oh Fitz, you finally gave up attempts to create a cool name and decided to borrow them from people, who actually know how to make them up," Daisy smirked and Fitz murmured something about her being mean.

It was so weird and kind of dumb. Lincoln was back, _alive,_ right down the hall, and they were... what? Discussing Doctor Who and Harry Potter references? But as much as Daisy wanted to know how it was possible, she was too afraid to ask. What if there was a price? Or consequences? She just wanted to have hope for a little longer, to pretend that she and Lincoln could be happy. But did she even deserve happiness after all those terrible things she'd done?

"So what, everybody uses these things in the future? No, this is ridiculous, of course. It's just that you don't look old enough to be a SHIELD agent. Why do you have it?"

"Uh… Why hasn't anyone asked who he is yet?" Mack asked, looking at Fitz, May and Daisy and then turning to the kid. "Do you have a name?"

"Obviously," he snorted. "But I can't tell you. You can call me Adam, though".

"Okay, Adam. And what are you doing here?"

"Uh, that is obvious, _again_. I mean I just saved Agent Johnson's husband, didn't I?" Adam winked at Daisy.

"Husband?!" she asked, suddenly feeling too hot.

Did that mean she and Lincoln… Had a future? _Together?_

"Or boyfriend, whatever," he shrugged, clearly not worried about spilling secrets that can change the timeline or something. "I actually don't know what he is. I've never met any of you in person".

"Then why did you do it?" Daisy asked and held her breath. "Who sent you?"

"No one exactly _sent me_ ," Adam shook his head. "I uh… I kinda stole the Turners from your lab, they haven't been tested yet. Well, not _I_ , but someone I'm doing this for".

"Who…"

"Wait a second," Fitz interrupted her, lifting an arm. "You _stole_ them? Are you saying… Are you out of your bloody mind? Do you have any idea what can happen if you mess with the timeline?"

And that was it, exactly what Daisy was afraid of. Now Fitz is gonna say they have to send Lincoln back to the quin jet to prevent some stupid apocalypse that will destroy the world just because this kid wanted him to live. But that wasn't right and Daisy absolutely wouldn't let them do it. He wasn't even supposed to be there! She was. She has to die for her sins, not Lincoln.

"Relax," Adam rolled his eyes. "This _is_ the timeline. It's already happened from my point of view. There is a report and everything I'm saying now is written down. I saw it once but I remember this part when I explain it to you. I'm supposed to say it right now. And this. And that. Why am I still… God, I can't even control it!"

"This is fascinating, I can't believe Simmons isn't here right now," Fitz said. "Are you going to meet her?"

"No, I guess the Universe doesn't want it. I'll have to go as soon as you take a look at my Turner and make sure it works".

"Oh, I need to go to the lab, but…" Fitz clearly didn't want to leave and miss half of the conversation with a guest from future.

"It's okay, Agent Johnson has some questions, but I won't talk about time-traveling anymore," Adam said reassuringly. "And I know bringing me to the lab would be against protocol".

Fitz actually pouted, but left the room without arguing.

"So, we have about ten minutes," the kid said. "I won't wait till mister Campbell wakes up, so just tell him to get better, will you?"

"Wait, hold on," Daisy licked her dry lips and looked at Adam. "Are you saying that this is real? Lincoln is back for good?"

"Of course," he smiled.

"And what now?"

"I don't know, just do you thing. I'm not going to give advices, you'll figure everything out on your own, I promise".

He was so confident, like he knew exactly what they were going to do. Well, he did, he came from future, but… He said he'd never met them, but now it was like he knew all their life choices. The way he's just said it – it sounded _personal_.

Daisy was suddenly hit with a weird thought – like super incredibly weird. She shook her head, because it was ridiculous, but it was there and it seemed more and more possible with every second. She narrowed her eyes and took Adam in, more carefully this time. He didn't look Chinese, that's for sure, but she was only half-Chinese, his hair was dark, kind of like hers, and his eyes were green, while Lincoln had blue eyes, though she had never seen his parents, and his chin looked slightly familiar… Okay, no, she was definitely going crazy.

"You're not our son or something, are you?" she blurted out and felt Mack looking at her with wild eyes.

"God, no, absolutely not!"

Okay, that was a little _rude_. Why would he be so repulsed by the thought of being their kid? They were not that bad, were they? And why would he save Lincoln if he didn't like him? Daisy raised her eyebrows, and Adam cleared his throat.

"I mean, no, I'm not. I knew you'd asked that, but still, we don't even look alike! And I told you we've never met before".

"I haven't met my parents until I was twenty-six," she said. "But I'm glad it's not your case. I just… How do you know us? Who are you working with?"

"I can't tell you that," he said with an apologetic face. "I just wanted to help, that's all".

"God, I didn't even thank you, did I?"

"It's okay, no problem," he flashed her a smile.

"No, _I mean it_ ", Daisy insisted. "Thank you. I… I don't know what I'd have done if… God, if you ever need anything in the future, just let me know…"

"Yeah, I have a pretty good idea what that might be… But it has to wait for a few years".

Adam looked at the door, and she guessed Fitz was about to return.

"I've fixed it," she heard his voice behind her. "I just need to set the coordinates".

"I'll do it myself," Adam said and got up on his feet. "I can't let you know when I'm from".

" _When_ you're from…" Fitz repeated in a dreamy voice. "That's amazing".

"Yeah," Adam chuckled and put the teleport on his left wrist. "You can't keep the second one to yourself".

Fitz looked like a kid who was busted with a candy before dinner.

"I know," he grumbled and handed him the Time-Turner. "I've fixed it too, actually. Just in case".

There was something uneasy in his voice.

"In what case?" Daisy furrowed her brow.

"You know that I've never worked with a technology like that," Fitz said. "I'm sure it will work, I did everything. But it's _time_. We can't completely understand it know and maybe… Well, there's like a ninety percent chance that you'll come back to the right time. Well, more like eighty-seven".

"Yeah, I know," Adam nodded nervously. "I've read the report".

"Wait, so you _knew_ about this and still used that thing?" Mack inquired, shaking his head.

"There was no other option," the kid said. "I did it for someone very important to me".

"But this isn't right," Daisy said, suddenly finding herself on the verge of tears. "We have to do something else, to check again".

"It's okay. I'm sure it's gonna be fine. You'll know when I'm supposed to come back".

"We'll find you if you won't. I promise".

"Okay," he sucked in a breath and looked at his wrist.

"Wait," Daisy said when he was about to press the button.

He looked at her. She didn't know why she called him, but she couldn't just let him leave like this. She made a few steps towards him and hugged him. Adam stiffened and awkwardly hugged her back. It felt a little weird – she was afraid to initiate physical contact with people after Hive, afraid that she might hurt them, but this kid brought her hope again, made her believe that she still could make up for what she did.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much. For everything".

"Daisy," he said quietly, calling her by first name this time. "I don't know what it means, but I need to tell you something very important".

"What?"

"What Hive did to you – it wasn't your fault. None of it was".

And after that – he disappeared, leaving her with her hands clutching on air.

Mack caught her as she stumbled and put her in a hug, letting her hide her face in his chest and cry. Daisy didn't even know why she was crying. She was overwhelmed with feelings. She was worried about a kid who put his life in danger to save Lincoln. She desperately wanted to believe his last words, but didn't know how. She was tired and stressed and relieved…

But mostly… she just felt _happy_.


	3. Chapter 3

Lincoln woke up to a familiar beeping sound, that left him with no doubt that he was in a hospital, not as a doctor this time. He tried to remember what happened but his memories were coming back in pieces and probably not in a chronological order. His eyelids were heavy and it took a few minutes of trying to open his eyes properly. When he did, the first thing he saw was Skye, sleeping in a chair near his bed. For a moment he had a feeling of déjà vu, which was confusing because Skye was supposed to have long hair, but then he finally realized that he wasn't here because he was tortured by Hydra and that Skye wasn't Skye anymore.

Daisy was still the most beautiful woman in the world, of course, but his heart broke when he saw her like this – very pale, with dark circles under her eyes and visibly thiner than she was before. He wanted to just scoop her in his arms, take her far, far away from SHIELD and all this fighting and make her forget about what Hive did to her. But what if it wasn't only Hive? He suddenly remembered how Daisy wanted to sacrifice herself and felt a lump in his throat. Lincoln couldn't even imagine what he would do if he woke up to find out she'd succeeded. But if it wasn't Daisy then who… He wasn't sure when he lost consciousness and what happened after his talk with Daisy, though he had a vivid, probably drug-induced dream about stealing the cross and getting to the quin jet himself.

He felt guilty for wanting to wake her up, but he really needed to feel her, to make sure she was here and okay. But when he reached out to take her hand, a quiet voice suddenly stopped him:

"Don't".

Lincoln was a little startled, because he wasn't expecting anyone else to be in the room, but when he turned his head slightly, he saw May standing by the window.

"She hasn't had a good sleep for a long time," the woman explained softly.

He nodded and looked at Daisy again.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"You think being under Hive's sway and dealing with her loved one's death isn't enough?"

"Death," he repeated, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry, I don't… Who?.."

"You don't remember anything?" May asked with her brow furrowed.

He shook his head slightly. Dread filled him at the thought of Daisy losing someone so close to her. Was it Coulson? Or Mack? Fitzsimmons? She has already been through so much, she didn't need somebody's death on top of that!

"You," she said. "We thought you were dead for five days. Blown up in space".

Lincoln blinked, trying to process everything.

So it was true. All of it – including his last conversation with Daisy when he _finally_ told her he loved her. He did, with all his heart, but he had a problem confessing it to her. Lincoln didn't even know it was possible to love someone this much. Before Jiaying found him all of his feelings were messed up. He just believed he was a heartless jerk, incapable of real feelings: he had a great family, friends and an amazing, caring girlfriend, but he always felt wrong, like something was missing. Then he was given a clean slate, a new purpose in life. He went through rehab, got into med school, prepared for terrigenesis, got a hold of his powers and started transitioning. He became an Inhuman and the emptiness inside him eased a little, but didn't go away as it was supposed to. Of course, he found a better way of dealing with it – helping people, not drinking his sorrows away. He had new friends and occasional flings with pretty students or girls from Afterlife and sometimes he felt _almost_ happy, but he still was lonely. He got used to it, thinking that he probably deserved all the loneliness, but this thought often kept him up at night – what kind of monster he was if he couldn't even love a single person? But then Gordo showed up near his campus and took him to meet the new Inhuman he was assigned to by Jiaying. And when this beautiful – he couldn't help but notice – terrified of her powers girl looked at him with her sad brown eyes – he suddenly felt more alive than he ever was. He was in love with her since day one. He said these three words to people when he felt he had to, but he never truly meant it. That's why he couldn't just say it to Daisy – he didn't want it to sound rehearsed like all those previous times. And then it just slipped without him even noticing. And he was grateful it did when he thought it would be his only chance.

But it wasn't. Lincoln was hit by a vague, but persistent flashback of saying he loved her and hearing her _saying it back_. He resisted the urge to wake her up just to tell her again and suddenly realized there was no memories between being in space and lying on a medical coat in Playground's common room with Daisy's bleary face hovering over him.

"How did you bring me back? I don't remember my trip to Earth at all".

"That's the thing," May said uneasily. "We didn't. I already told you, you were de- _absent_ for five days".

"I don't understand," Lincoln frowned. "I couldn't survive for five days with injuries I had. And I certainly couldn't come back… Wait. Um… That's probably painkillers talking, but- You don't know a guy, dark hair, about eighteen years old I think…"

"His name is Adam," May nodded instead of calling him crazy. "At least that's what he told us".

"He's real? I mean, I saw him in space, so…"

"He had a time-travelling teleport which he used to save your life," the woman explained, and though Lincoln could shoot lightning-bolts from his hands, he still couldn't understand how May was so calm while talking about teenage timetravelers. "Basically that's all, we don't know who sent him or why they wanted you alive".

"Well," Lincoln said. "I'm glad they did".

"Me too".

"Uh… Yeah. Thanks".

"I mean it though," May continued. "What you said about me and Coulson wanting you dead to play family with Daisy… You know it's not true, right?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," he shrugged. "I kinda had a bad day".

"I do think you're good for her. I want Daisy to be happy and I believe you can give it to her".

Lincoln was a little taken aback by her words because he never really expected to hear them from Melinda May.

"Um… Thank you. I appreciate it. Even though I had to die first to earn that," he joked, not knowing how to react.

"I thought so before. I just don't talk to people about feelings".

Lincoln laughed quietly.

"You guys suck at keeping quiet," Daisy said groggily, and his heart swelled at the sound of her voice. "But thanks for trying".

"Sorry," he smiled, feeling only slightly guilty.

Her eyes snapped open.

"Lincoln," she said watching him carefully, as if she was still doubting he was real. Well, he couldn't blame her after what he's known.

"Hey," he smiled and saw May leave the room.

"Oh my God," Daisy whispered, getting out of her chair and sitting on his bed closer to him. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he said and reached out his free hand to put a strand of hair behind her ear and cup her cheek. "I'm okay".

"I thought you were dead," she said in a soft voice. Lincoln could see she was trying not to cry, but her eyes were already full with tears. "I thought I lost you forever".

Daisy couldn't contain her sobs anymore and put her hand over her mouth. He tried to sit up, but flopped back on the pillow.

"Don't move," she sniffled. "You need to rest. Maybe I should get Jemma?"

"Not yet," he said. "Just stay here a little longer, okay?"

"Okay. But seriously, don't try to get up".

"Come here, then," he shifted on the bed, making room for her, and lifted his arm.

"Are you sure I won't hurt you?" she asked.

"I'm sure. And I happen to be a doctor".

That finally put a smile on her face and she rolled her eyes chuckling.

"Oh really?"

Daisy toed off her shoes and lied next to him, curling up at his uninjured side.

"Is this okay?" she asked somewhat tentatively and he wrapped his hand around her tiny frame, pressing her close.

They fell into comfortable silence. He knew there was a lot of things they had to discuss – Hive, all this time-traveling thing and, more importantly, their relationship – but he wanted to enjoy this quiet moment before bringing seriousness into it. Her fingers were drawing patterns on his chest and he was gently stroking the small of her back. The thought of never seeing Daisy again was unbearable to him, and he only thought it for several excruciating minutes, but she had spent _days_ believing that he was dead. He couldn't even imagine how hard it was for her, especially after Hive. He nearly lost his mind when she was swayed, but he knew that she was alive and they would get her back. But if she died… He wouldn't survive it.

Overwhelmed with feelings, he kissed the top of her head, then her temple. Daisy's hand found its way to the nape of his neck and in his hair. Lincoln pressed his forehead to hears, not inching closer. As much as he wanted to just lean in and kiss her properly, he wasn't sure she would want that. She was in a very vulnerable state after being controlled by Hive and he couldn't push her.

"May I kiss you?" Daisy asked in a small voice.

Once Lincoln realized what she was asking and that she really thought she had to _ask_ for that, he dived in capturing her lips in a kiss. God, did he miss her! Daisy signed against his mouth and he tightened his hold on her, so she was practically lying on top of him.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

Daisy winced at Jemma's indignant voice and reluctantly pulled away.

"I understand everything, but this is not how you treat a patient right after operation," Simmons continued as she walked to the other side of his bed. "He is not cleared for any of your… activities".

"Relax, Jemma," Daisy rolled her eyes, but blushed slightly.

"I'm fine," Lincoln said quickly. "I cleared myself".

"Of course you did," Simmons snorted. "Now, how are you feeling?"

For the next thirty minutes Jemma was checking his vitals and asking him questions and Daisy came back to her chair and didn't let go of his hand for a second. Jemma insisted on giving him more medicine, so, when she left, he was already feeling sleepy again.

Lincoln made room for her on the bed, but Daisy didn't move.

"What is it?" he asked feeling slightly concerned, when she didn't look up.

She cleared her throat.

"We kissed. Uh… that happened. Do we need to talk about it?"

Lincoln smiled, recognizing his own words. But was she serious?

"No, we don't. Why don't we just see what happens?"

"Will it happen again?"

"Planning takes the fun out of it," he said. "But I would gladly kiss you right now".

The corner of her mouth twitched, but she still seemed unsure for some reason.

"It's just you said you wanted to break up".

Wha- _Shit._ So that's what it all was about. He didn't even think about that in the light of what happened after.

"I'm sorry, I thought," he squeezed her hand. "I didn't want to break up with you. I just thought it would be good for both of us to take a break."

"Do you still think that?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know. But I don't want that anymore. I just got a second… Well, a third chance. I don't want to waste any second".

"Okay," Daisy said quietly and entwined their fingers.

"I'm sorry about all that," he said again. "I kind of assumed saying "I love you" canceled what I said before that".

She finally looked at him.

"And I do," he rushed to add. "Love you, I mean. I love you a lot, actually. Like very, very much".

Daisy laughed happily and pressed her lips to his. He replied eagerly and she deepened the kiss, climbing onto his bed. He really wanted to do this forever, but the drugs were kicking in and soon it was hard for him to keep up. She laughed again.

"Sleep," she said. "I'll be here when you wake up".

"You should get some rest too".

"I will".

He was running his fingers through her hair until he couldn't lift his arm anymore.

"Lincoln?" Daisy whispered, checking if he was already asleep, and something in her voice made him look at her though it was difficult to keep his eyes opened. She was watching him with her big brown eyes he fell in love with the first second he saw her.

"Are you sure you still love me after what I did?"

"I am absolutely sure I still love you after what Hive made you do which was not your fault," he said firmly without missing a bit. "I don't think I could ever stop loving you".

Daisy seemed like she was searching his face for confirmation that he wasn't lying and smiled.

"Good," she said as she burrowed her head into his chest. "I love you, too".


End file.
